Pump-control valve for locomotive train lines



Jime 23, 1925. 1,543,552

7 w. COULSON PUMP coN'rRoL mm: FOR LOCOMOTIVE mun mu s Filed 061. s, 1924 :5- Sheets-Sheet 1 WITNESSES lNVgNTOR A/ f (ab/(Q Wm, oulwn M "law/4 ATTORNEYS June 23, 1925.

w. COULSO N PUMP CONTROL VALVE FOR LOCOMOTIVE TRAIN LINES Filed Oct. :5, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 3; 'Wfi'ow a'oru {3 BY ATTORNEYS June 23, 1925.

W. COULSON PUMP CONTROL VALVE FOR LOCOMOTIVE-TRAIN LINES Filed Oct. 5. 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 illl if m m w a m m 0 C A 2w m fi .3 A? Y i mi I g Q 1 1. 1 m n 1 a RH m $N B 9 m J H m m lh w Patented June 23, 1925.

*ILLIAM"GOU ILSO N,: 0F MEGHANIGVILIQE, NEW YORK.

' funfieemnon vALvEi son nocomorivs TRAIN LrivEs.

Be it known that I, Wrni mrf Gontsoiv, a? subject of the King of Greet Britain, who has secured his first citizen papers, we a resi'deiiiiefMeehenievfll invehe county of Seretieg'a airicl St te of New Y rk, haive a e-nee certain new and" useful Imp ove mentsiir Purhp Ciin'trol Wives for Locomo} fiifve T'ii ii-iLines, of whieh the follbwin -g is a: sgecificetiofi, I 7

hiezinventi-eii relates; to improvements in Ideomnfiives parfiicwlerly fiethe air' brake system, 511$ it eonsistfs' of th constru'ehei s; comfiimtiens and arrangements herein de scribed and cleiniee, I I I p A11 ohject of the inveptibn is to provide e; doubie=pist o1t verve which functi ns; i such a manner as to give the; en- 'iie'er of al'eatd ing lbco netive control orfifi e pumps ofph semi-d" Ioeomotiive ii the case of a so-called dBubleli ea'der; obviating" the present ne'- mewof the" leadiiig locometive pumping, in o :tir foi the Whole train i I Other objects ma hil -vantages" appe'e r i-ri the feuoemg speeifieaiien; re feren e being had to the eeeem acnyihg isw-ing m ivli'iiliz' 1 I Q" Figure I iai diagrammatic s'icl'e'- elevation of a? seesnee doubleheader ilhistratin'g fllie'veafve mechzmis fi ihvel vedgthe memotime he g shown fiegmentarily,

is e diiigramine-tic section of the mechanism is the ruriiiing positioir, Figure 3 is similar view ef'tlre viive mselfiaenism in" the; ste ping pesi-fiien, when the engineersvelve hes heen turiiw to miike-af' serfice ep' 'ieiitio'n of the Brakes.

, a leiigtrsiir of must he drawn, is is fieeeseery te use two locoi'notives, c emmonly called a double hezifier'. Accord ng) to existihgprti'eti'ce the-25in puntes; pumps the le'mii'fig loeemotive upon which the B'Hi'defi is pieced of supplying the whole twin i-heWithifiiF. Thisis hecausethe engiseeref the second} leee'metive ous'tomair'ily cats ens t'lre'flrsim line, s6 far the main s erveir'em Bis: lo'eemefiveijs 'coi iel iied, by of the usuel clit oi iit' val ve under" the Brekevelve; merely lieepii g'pressui'e in his we use of" an emer y H .e It is usually the case that a train line is leaky; marshy iseieaseig the dememi upon theme inside efi'eikte'nt; the they 'mhgli otl; 1r them ieii to keep up is: he" were will" obviously making it hard to pull the train and sometimes resulting in causing the Wheels to slide. The flat wheel s have to be eh'aiigetl when arriving at; theterminal. It

is the purpose of the invention to provide tended to he considerecl as coupled to' constit'ute a doubleheader for, drawing at long carry Ina-in reservoirs 3- and 4 which are suppliecl with air through pipe 5 and 6'- by puinps'not shown: The main reservoir'p-ipes 7 and 8 connect the main reservoirs with the engineers brake valves 9 and 10. These va'l v'es usually haive six positions for the valve' levers 11 and 12 of which full 're lease, running position, and service application a-re't'he ones referred to herein. Branch pipes" 13- and 14:: connect from the main reservoir pipes to the brake valves under the rotary valve niernbers ofthe latter and have feed valves 15 and 16 by m'eans of which the customary reservoir air pressure of 1 10 lbs; is reduced to lbs. train line pressure. The, brake-valves are in connection with and control theeir in the traln pipe commonly designated 17, the continuity of which is readily followed in the drawings. The branch pipes 13 and 1 k and the train pipe are fitted with. cut-out; valves 20 2 1, 22 and 23. 7

So far a's'this description has progressed, it is that of an existing structural arrangement, and agreeable with a statement previously made the engineer of the second locomotive 2 shuts the; reservoir 4 from the train line 17 by Closing the cut-outs 22 and 23 The engineer of the leading locomotive opens all of his cut-outs. The closed position of the cutout valves occur when the valve handles are parallel with the pipes in which the valves are situated. 7

The invention comprises a relatively si1nple mechanism which is identicalon every iecomotive, and as this is also true of the locomotives l and 2 herein shown, the plan is? todeserihfe the mechanism on the second locomotive 2 intheit this is the one conc'e'r-hed and usereference Characters for si mi 1e" par i e H QQh iQiSiI on 1ocom rive 1, bihifistiei'gffiieli ths lette y r ly The locomotives adding the exponent letter a, without specific .description. The valve mechanism of the leading locomotive responds similarly as does that of the second, the purpose and advantage of this being that a normal air supply may be insured ahead of the leader in case one or more cars be coupled ahead.

Extending from the branch pipe 13 to the valve cylinder 2% near one end is the feed pipe which is joined by a bypass 26 from the train line 17. A check valve27 is situated in the bypass ahead of its connection to the feed pipe. A connection 28 joins the by-pass with the valve cylinder near the other end. This connection has a check valve 29 having a spring 30, tending to unseat it. The purpose of the spring is to hold the valve 29 off its seat when the brakes are set to insure an equalization of air pressure in both sides of the train line so that the air gauge reading will be correct.

The places where the feed pipe 25 and connection 23 join the valve cylinder-2a are hereinafter termed ports 31 and 32. A mid pipe extends from the train line 17 to a port 3 1 in the cylinder 2 1 at a point substantially midway of the ports 31 and 32. A high pressure pipe connects the train line with the right end of the valve cylinder, and an equalizing pipe 36 connects the train line with the left end of the cylinder. This pipe contains a check valve 37 which figures in an equalizing function of the pipe 36.

In reference to the valve cylinder 21, the ends are flanged to provide for the attachment of the heads 38 and 39 into which the pipes and 36 open. These heads are hereinafter referred to as right and left chambers. They also have webs 10 and &1 in which the stems 4:2 and 13 of the valve pistons 4 1 and are guided. These pistons are fixedly connected by a rod 46 so that they move together.

Springs 4:? and 4L8 upon the stems 4:2 and 13 between the respective pistons and webs prevent the pistons from striking the adjacent heads 38 and 39 when lHOVeCl UO the extremities in these directions. The piston 44 is a fraction larger in diameter than the piston 15 so that the piston valveswill stick or stay in place when moved. The cylinder has a groove 50 through which communication occurs between the pipe 36 and the interior of the cylinder 24. It is through this groove that the pressures in the pipe 36 and cylinder 24L equalize when the pistons are restored to the normal running position upon re-establishment of the train line pressure.

The operation is now described, and the functions of the foregoing mechanisms Will become apparent. The train line cut-offs 20, 21 and 22, 23 are respectively opened and closed. The closed cut-out 22 in effect divides the train line. The engineer of the leading locomotive is first assumed as desiring to charge or recharge the train line 17. This is done by moving the lever 11 of the brake valve 9 to full release position. The 110 lb. pressure of the reservoir 3 is thus let into the train line 17 of the leading locomotive 1, passing onto the sec ond locomotive 2, down the high pressure pipe 35, into the right chamber 38' pushing the pistons 1 1 .and {15 back to cover the port 32 and open the port 31. i

Air at the same time enters the by pass 26, seating valve 29 and unseating valve 27 so that the air from the leading locomotive enters the feed pipe 25. Inasmuch as the port 31 is opened, air from the second reservoir at, also enters the pipe25 and the mixture passes into the central chamber of the cylinder 24, thence passes through'the port 3 into the mid-pipe 33 and discharges into the continuation of the train line which extends the full length of the train. Airis thus contributed by the reservoir 4 of the second locomotive as well as by the reservoir 3, and together they charge the line and maintainthe pressure.

It is next assumed that the train is onthe way. The reservoirs 3 and 4: contain air at the normal 110 lbs. pressure, and the train line pressure is atSO lbs- A stop is desired. The engineer of. the leading locomotive makes a service application of {his i brake valve 9 causing a train, line pressure reduction of approximately 10 lbs. There is a response to this pressure drop in the train line 17, pipe 35, chamber 38, by pass 26, and'mid pipe 33. Thecheckvalve 37 seats itself uponthedrop of pressure the train linetothe right of it, thereby trap ping air in the left chamberj33 at a pressure of 10 lbs. higherthan in. chamber 38. This preponderance of pressure pushes the valve pistons to the right (Fig. 3) closing the port 31 and cutting off the ,air from feed pipe 25 into the cylinder 21, and also in: sures that the valve pistons will not move again until normal pressure is restored and the brakes are released. V, 1 v V But the port 32 is opened permittingair at lbs. pressure to flow from. the train line at the left of cut-off 22, throughjthe cylinder 24, port 32, connection28 and by pass 26 intothe train line 17, at the right of cut-off 22 and on to the brake valve 9 of the leading locomotive untilthe pressure in the entire line has equalized at 70 lbs. The check valve .29 becomes unseated .bythe spring 30 beneath it,-.thereby-.producing. a correct gauge reading in the leading-loco: motive. I

As soon as the first dropin pressure oc curred in the by-pass 26, they check valve 27 closed, thereby preventing air from the res ervoir 4: entering the t ain line. The automatic closing of the check valve 27 cuts off the pressure of the second locomotive reservoir from the train line. In further reference to the check valve 29; there are usually enough leaks in the train line to cause a. further reduction of air pressure so that the valve would be likely to seat upon a reduction of pressure under it. The spring 30 lifts the valve upon this happening, and thus permits an equalization of air pressure.

When the need for brake application is over the engineer restores the brake valve lever 11 to the full release position. The former 80 lbs. air pressure is thus reestab lished and the valve pistons 44 and 45 restored to the original positions in Fig. 2. The purpose of the groove 50 now is to permitthe pressure in the left chamber 39 to equalize with the train line pressure. The reason for the necessity of this equalization is this: if, upon releasing the brakes and recharging the train line, the brake valve of the leading locomotive is placed in running position before the train line pressure has been pumped up to 80 lbs. there would be less pressure in chamber 38 than in chamber 39 whereupon the valve pistons would be pushed ahead again (Fig. 3), closing the port 31, cutting off the supply of the train line by the reservoir 4 and causing the brakes to stick.

As described before, the piston 44L is made to fit its bore a. little tighter than does the piston l5, or just enough to make the pistons remain stationary when the control valve is in the running position after air is pumped up to full pressure. When a brake application is made there will always be an 80 lb,

pressure in the left chamber 39, and that will be enough to overcome the slight difference in size of the pistons.

It is not essential that the two locomotives be coupled as herein disclosed in order for the control valve to function. The practice of coupling fifteen (more or less) of cars between locomotives of a double-header train is sometimes carried out. It also happens sometimes that three or four locomotives are coupled together in a train. In either event the control valves will function to cause each locomotive to do its share of the pumping.

While the construction and arrangement of the improved control valve is that of a enerally preferred form, obviously modil ications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

tive reservoir to the cylinder, mid'pipe connecting the cylinder to the train pi e, and means operable in each cylinder y air initially supplied to the feed pipes by the leading locomotive reservoir to place the.

feed and mid-pipes in communication thus causing the respective reservoiirs to contribute to the train line air supply.

2. In combination with a compressed air reservoir and a train line; a cylinder connected between the reservoir and train line, means constituting a valve shiftable in the cylinder by an influx of compressed air into the train line and cylinder to place said reservoir into communication with the train line to supplement the air present therein, and means in which air is trapped at train line pressure upon shifting of said valve means for reversely shifting said valve means and cutting off said reservoir upon a pressure reduction in the train line.

3. In combination with a compressed air reservoir and a train line having a closed cut-out; a cylinder connecting the reservoir to the train line at both sides of the cut-out, means constituting a valve shiftable in the cylinder by an influx of compressed air into the train line and cylinder from one side of the cut-out to establish communication of the reservoir through the cylinder to the train line at the other side of the cut-out and thereby contribute to the train line pressure, and trap means situated between the train line at said other side of the cut-out and the cylinder at the other side of said valve means to trap air at train line pressure for reversely shifting the valve means to close off the reservoir upon a pressure reduction in the train line.

4. A train line having a cut-out intended to be closed, a compressed air reservoir, a cylinder receiving compressed air into one end from the train line at one side of the cut-out, a double-piston valve in the cylinder moved in one direction by said compressed air, and ports leading into the cylinder then so controlled by said valve to admit compressed air from both the reservoir to commingle with train line air and pass to the train line at the other side of said cut-out.

WILLIAM GOULSON. 

